It's Easier to Run
by Nikki Mustang
Summary: “Name’s Axel. A-X-E-L. I suggest next time you’re running away from your parents fighting, you come talk to me instead of keeping the whole building awake with your racket.” Roxas likes running, but someone's gotta teach him to appreciate life. AkuRoku AU
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my first "multi-chapter" on this account. I don't anticipate it getting too long, five chapters at most, but it's a step up for me. I haven't decided on an update schedule yet, but I have got chapter two written. To be honest, I have no clue where this plot came from, but I'm enjoying that it's longer than a oneshot or drabble. I hope you enjoy, and please review, they make me smile. Thanks!**

**I own two discs of Kingdom Hearts! Beat that!**

* * *

The pounding beat in his ears, the steady rhythm with which his sneakers slapped the ground, and the singing of a man he knew was among the few who understood his emotions perfectly urged Roxas to continue running. The blonde often took to exercising when he was frustrated with life, and this was a perfect outlet for his emotions.

So, continuing to run moderately fast along the bike path, he began to scream the obscenities the song was currently playing, loudly. It wasn't so much the running as the fact that the freeway along which the path traveled drowned out the noise caused by his outbursts.

* * *

A few months later winter decided to strike the city with a thick white blanket, as if taking vengeance for time lost by restricting movement as much as possible. Sure, the snowflakes were beautiful, but Roxas missed his bike path. Unfortunately, the city deemed it pointless to plow the fenced off area because nobody (besides him, of course) used it.

Sighing, Roxas laced up his shoes and put his ear buds in, determined to run up and down the building's steps until the shattering of glass had stopped in his apartment. He heard a cry of "worthless _bitch_!" during a quiet intro before the guitar riffs occupied his hearing entirely and he swiftly slipped out the door.

His feet began pounding rhythmically as he ascended, running along each hallway before advancing to the next level. He touched the door of the roof before returning downward, never pausing as he made the circuit once, twice, thrice. Upon heading down for the fourth time he realized another red haired teenager was blocking his path on the third floor, leaning against a wall casually.

Roxas slowed down before taking out a headphone and pressing pause on his music. " 'Scuse me, you're blocking the way." He stated semi-politely, not wanting to start yet another fight with his neighbors.

The teenager shook his head. "Nah, I think you're running up and down the halls too much." Roxas frowned at that. "You wouldn't happen to live in 2F, would you?"

Roxas nodded, curious as to how he'd known. "Your dad left about five minutes ago." The stranger jerked a thumb toward the stairwell. "I'm guessing you have cleanup to do."

The blonde frowned again; was this guy keeping tabs on him or something? "Uh, thanks." He stated aloud, waiting for the redhead to move. The other teenager only stretched his extraordinary limbs out further, barring Roxas's path completely.

"Name's Axel. A-X-E-L. I suggest next time you're running away from your parents fighting, you come talk to me instead of keeping the whole building awake with your racket. I live in 3F, got it memorized?"

Roxas blushed, embarrassed that he'd seen through the façade so easily. Then again, if he lived directly above Roxas, that wasn't too hard an assumption to make; his father screamed louder than Roxas himself did. "Right."

Axel clapped a hand on Roxas's shoulder before moving out of the way and back into his apartment. "Go take care of your mom." He commanded quietly before shutting the door. "I don't need to tell you that she needs it."

Roxas stared at the door for a few minutes; the rusting metal that identified the apartment drew his attention more than anything, before a soft clicking in his ears reminded him that the iPod had just shut itself off. He reached to it for a moment and began playing softer music before walking down the hallway. Axel was right; that was his place at that point in time. He sighed as he shoved the device back into his pocket and jogged downstairs.

He stretched upwards when he reached 2F, fingers just barely managing to break a spare key free from the scotch tape on the top of the door frame. He quickly unlocked the door and replaced the key before slipping inside, flipping the deadbolt and dropping his iPod onto a table before hugging his mother. She only cried quietly as her son lead her to the bathroom, picked the shattered glass from her wounds, and bandaged them silently.

He was leading her to the spare bedroom when she finally spoke. "I'm sorry it's always like this, Roxas." She murmured as she snuggled between the sheets. He nodded in acceptance of her apology before hugging her once more and shutting the door quietly.

Still quiet, Roxas swept the remnants of the glass coffee table into a black garbage bag. He tied it shut quickly before leaning out the window into the freezing air and dropping it skillfully into the open dumpster beneath their apartment. He then shoved the coffee table against a wall so his sure-to-be-drunk father wouldn't trip on it hurt them even more. He looked around for any more wreckage before cleaning a few drops of blood from the linoleum in the kitchen. Finally, he picked up his possessions and retreated to his bedroom.

Roxas immediately went to his stereo and put some music on softly. He stripped down to his black and white checkered boxers before turning out the lights and jumping between his own bed sheets, where he proceeded to sit and think.

"I wonder… just how transparent our lives really are." He muttered to the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm surprised I got so many reviews for this so quickly! I expected like, one, if I was lucky. Thank you so much! –offers cookies to reviewers-**

**And thank you **_**Oblivious,**_** whoever you may be.**

**So…I said this would be under five chapters. I might have lied…I don't know yet. I know I have three chapters typed already and I don't believe I'm anywhere near the resolution I wanted. Though I actually do know **_**where**_** this one is going. XD**

**I think I'm doing updates on Wednesdays and Fridays. Maybe more if I write more. This is tentative.  
**

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter! I posted earlier than I ever would have normally because I'm super-excited.**

**I own a checkered bracelet like Roxas's. Sadly, I don't own him… yet.**

**

* * *

  
**

_New day, same routine._

_Crashing, screaming, lacing up running shoes, and wearing out the ancient carpeting in the hallways._

_Life on repeat._

_Until someone discovers a new interpretation of the lyrics._

* * *

Roxas sighed and slipped out the door again, turning on Linkin Park before starting to run. Fate in the form of a redhead who lived above the battle zone, however, decided to intervene.

Seeing Axel, Roxas slowed and took a headphone from his ear, willing to hear the redhead out.

"Didn't I tell you to come and talk to me instead of wearing out the carpet?" He shook his head, frustrated that someone else in his age group could be so stubborn.

Roxas looked around guiltily, avoiding Axel's gaze. "I didn't want to bother you." He shuffled around awkwardly.

Axel looked at the blonde for a moment before sighing and opening his apartment door, motioning for him to go in. Roxas stayed still, making Axel raise a thin eyebrow. "I leave so I won't hear it, and the walls aren't very good at blocking out sound." He explained dully.

Understanding dawned on Axel's face. "Well, how about going to get something to eat? You look like you need food, and this way you're reassured that I won't rape you." He chuckled before disappearing inside, leaving Roxas in the hallway to frown and fully disengage himself from his music. Without much delay, Axel reappeared in a black pea coat and held a tan one for Roxas. "You're not going back to your apartment for awhile."

"I'm not complaining." Roxas took the jacket and pulled it on, noticing that it was much nicer than the hooded sweatshirts he usually used as coats. Axel locked his door and the two proceeded down the stairs and to a small corner café that Roxas knew only by sight and Axel visited occasionally when he was in a people mood.

"So, kid." The redhead started off as he handed Roxas a menu.

"Roxas." Said teenager corrected him. At Axel's raised eyebrow, he elaborated "It's a place in the Philippines. Don't ask me why they named me it, I have no idea."

Axel laughed. "Roxas." He tried out the name, finding it was easier to say than he would have thought. "I'm guessing you like running?"

The blonde shrugged. "I normally run on a bike path near the highway, but since its winter there's no way I can run through two foot tall snowdrifts." Axel nodded in agreement. "So, where do you go to school?"

"Idiots put me at Hollow Bastion High this year." Axel snorted. "I'm normally at Twilight."

The waitress came to take their orders, leaving Roxas to mull over the information. He went to Twilight, too. As he had never been there before, Axel ordered for Roxas and they both wound up having sandwiches.

After setting down their drinks, Axel thanked Yuna and she smiled at him, saying their order would be ready in a few minutes. "So, which school do you go to?" He asked the silent blonde.

"Twilight." He answered, taking an experimental sip of the cherry coke. He discovered that he liked it.

"Strange, I've never seen you there before." Axel wondered aloud.

"I dyed my hair brown during freshman orientation last year. Apparently I looked exactly like this kid from Destiny High, and grew it out again when summer came around."

Axel nodded as Yuna set their orders in front of them, still smiling, before drifting off and making sure the new girl, Yuffie, didn't break any more dishes than she already had today.

Their conversation continued, ranging from classes they liked and hated to video games to what they wanted to be when they 'grew up.'

"Firefighter." Axel stated, finishing off his roast beef sandwich. "Fire's amazing, you know? It's so powerful, and fast, and…"

"…and I think you're more fit to be a pyro than a firefighter. You seem to admire it more than anything. And look at your hair." Roxas pointed to a red spike and laughed. The redhead frowned, crossing his arms.

"Thanks a lot, Roxy."

Roxas froze, flashbacks running through his mind unchecked.

_What's wrong, Roxy-baby?_

_Oh yeah, _Roxy's_ gonna tell me what to do._

Axel noticed Roxas close off. "Roxas? Is everything okay?"

The blonde took a deep breath, fighting the memories away. "Yeah, fine." He smiled a thin attempt at disguising his discomfort. "Just… remembering the past."

Axel frowned. He'd like to think that Roxas and he were friends, but this was only their first time talking and he knew it would take a lot more for the blonde to trust him. He nodded and motioned to Yuna for the bill. He struck up idle chatter whilst handing her fifteen dollars, and within five minutes they were walking back to the apartment building.

"Want to come over after school? I won't have homework, and maybe we can avoid the whole awkward-meeting thing." Axel wondered aloud, kicking an empty energy drink can down the damp sidewalks.

Roxas stepped forward a little bit and kicked it as well. "Sure."

They smiled at one another and Axel dropped Roxas off at the second landing after watching Roxas's father leave.

"You know, I know you don't think it's worth it."

Roxas froze for the second time that night, eyeing Axel warily as he leaned against the doorframe to the stairwell. "I know you think life isn't worth it." Axel challenged again. "Your life sucks, and you're just living until you think you can get away from it all."

Roxas glared at Axel. "I know, who the fuck is this guy that thinks he can tell me what my life is like?" The redhead continued, walking toward the blonde. "But you know, I lived like you are now."

"Shut up." Roxas muttered under his breath. "You don't know."

"Why do you think I live alone? Why do you think I even took the time to notice that every time that same couple under me has a fight, I hear someone running through the hallways? You're running away from it, and you're running away from the fact that someone does understand what it's _like_ and can _help_."

"Sometimes it's easier to run." Roxas muttered again.

"Roxas!" Axel shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders and slamming him against the off-white wall. "I _know_ what you're thinking. You're going to kill yourself like this." The younger teen stared at his shoes. "Please. Just talk to me next time something's bothering you." Roxas nodded, and Axel finally released him.

"I'll see you tomorrow. If you don't want to keep running away, that is." The redhead walked through the door and up the stairs, presumably to his own apartment. Roxas glared at the door stubbornly. He gave up on glaring at a guy that wouldn't see it, sighed, and entered 2F, moving through the same motions he did every other night.

Finally, when he was in his bed, the nightmares came back. He curled up in a ball and covered his head with his pillow, willing them to go away. The other blonde kept tormenting his dreams. The last horror replayed itself before Roxas bolted upright, clutching his sheets. "GET OFF OF ME!"

Roxas breathed heavily for a few seconds before diving under the covers again and biting his pillow to keep himself from going hysterical. He thought about everything, relaxing only when the first glow of light shone through the dark window. The color red wouldn't leave his thoughts.

"It's easier to run, but sometimes it just feels better to give in."

* * *

**Uh-oh, who's been traumatizing Roxas? Correct guesses get a dedication. And a paopu, just for the hell of it.**

**I have no clue why I made Yuna a waitress, besides that I didn't wanna use Aerith and Yuffie seems too clumsy.  
**

**Also, you Alert people, I know you can type a "yay" in the little box that pops up when you push the button under this. Give it a try. ;]**

**Thanks for reading! Please review!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again. Wanna know something funny? I didn't plan on updating today, since I decided on Wednesdays being update days, but then I noticed it was Friday the 13th and went "ROXAS!" and wanted to do something for it.**

**Posting a chapter's a good idea, I think... and maybe something else later, I don't know. Depends on what the muse decides on writing, it's getting slaughtered by watching the news all the time and hearing depressing stuff. Yay headphones. I'm rambling.**

**Thank you again to _Oblivious _for reviewing, I enjoy reading your comments, and Axel would rock as a firefighter. Though he'd probably cause more fires than he put out...  
**

**This chapter's dedicated to _Insanecat6 _for guessing the person who's tormenting Roxas correctly. She and _crystal13moon _get a paopu each for guessing correctly, though technically crystal guessed all the blondes in KH. Enjoy your "wedding in juicy fruit form"!**

**I have blonde hair, but I'm not Roxas. So I can't use my keyblades to get ownership of KH, much less a heart. -sad-**

* * *

Roxas sighed and disassembled the pen he was using to take notes for the fourth time this class hour. Normally physics wasn't so boring, but today was definitely an exception. Finally the bell rang and he heaved a grateful sigh, stuffing his notebook into his checkered messenger bag and slinging it over his shoulder. He had German next hour and wanted to get there slightly early in order to detail a few things on the large map of 'Deutschland' he had to recreate for a grade.

…or that was his intention, anyways, until he was slammed against a tan locker.

Roxas was annoyed by this point. Every other day he was subjected to this, and it was getting old. "Fuck _off_, Seifer." He growled, not caring that the older boy was holding his arms in a vice grip, and struggled slightly.

"Only if it's you." Seifer retorted automatically. Before the beanie-wearing senior could pull any other tricks, Roxas kneed him in the groin and wiggled away from where the other had been pinning him against the wall.

"Get new comebacks!" Roxas called over his shoulder as he sped down the hallway, wondering where Rai and Fuu, Seifer's groupies, were. That disturbance had interrupted his quick pace, and he would now arrive just before the bell. He swore under his breath as he turned a corner and discovered where Rai and Fuu were.

Blocking his way into the classroom. How original. The girl was looking idly around for Roxas and Rai was taking his job far too seriously, employing the use of binoculars in a hallway where the only thing to focus on would be female anatomy. Unfortunately, Fuu saw the only checkered messenger bag in school dodge back around the corner. "There." She pointed, causing Rai to focus in Roxas's direction with the binoculars.

"Where? I don't see the squirt…" Fuu snatched the binoculars away and threw them into Rai's open locker before pointing again and turning the corner, revealing Roxas leaning against the lockers as he waited for them to get to class.

"Ah, Rai, Fuu! Nice to see you. I just saw Seifer too, actually, but he seemed to be a bit ill…you might want to go check on him."

"Nice try, blondie."

Roxas turned around as Seifer walked up, limping slightly. "You're gonna pay for that, Roxy." He growled.

The younger shrugged again. "Well, it's not as though I hurt your chances of having children, so no harm done." He attempted ducking past the duo, failing miserably when Fuu grabbed his collar and held him there with her superwoman strength. She deposited him into Seifer's control before dragging Rai off as he screamed "Don't dis Seifer, y'know?!"

"I thought I turned you _down_." Roxas hissed as the late bell rang. "Get away from me."

"I don't like taking no for an answer." Seifer responded, pressing him once again against the lockers and making sure Roxas had no way to escape this time. It was noticed immediately.

"Fucking get _away_ from me!" Roxas shouted before Seifer muffled him with his mouth, taking advantage of the shouting to explore the cavern the younger blonde had left open for him. After a few minutes, he broke away with a triumphant grin as Roxas glared at him.

"Be glad I didn't keep you for longer." He commented offhandedly, placing a pink late pass into Roxas's half-open hand. "Get to class."

"I'd be there already if it weren't for you." He snapped back, receiving a glare from the older student as a warning not to mouth off. He stalked down the hallway and into German, giving the teacher the late pass and slamming into his seat.

His day had been going so well.

* * *

Finally, it was the end of the day. Roxas finished getting his homework from his locker before exiting the school and getting on the 3:45 bus bound for the stop that was a three minute walk from his house. On the way, he realized he was visiting Axel in less than an hour. He played with the bus pass in his hands as he thought of the fact that this was the first time he would be going to a friend's house since middle school.

Using the rest of his time, he thought of Naminé. She had been, and still was, his closest friend. He was sure that he was still hers as well, but her busy schedule restricted them from hanging out very often. He dug through his bag and pulled out a black cell phone with a silver X-shaped design on the cover and texted her, asking how everything was going with her art program and school in general. He didn't expect a reply back for a while, so he was surprised when he got a message back in less than a minute.

_Hey Roxas! Art's going fine, we're learning more pottery techniques right now, and things are okay at school. How're things in Twilight? 3/Nami_

He smiled; she had replied right away, so she was either not very busy or very excited to talk to him if she was skipping out on her normal after school sketching. He typed rapidly on the keypad, forming a response.

_Twilight's fine, Seifer's being his normal self and classes are okay. I met this guy who lives above me named Axel, and he seems nice, but pushy. I'm gonna hang out with him tonight. ~rox~_

Roxas sent his message and sat back, knowing Naminé would reply quickly. Sure enough, he was soon flipping open his phone to read the response.

_Oh, Roxas! I'm SO glad you're making friends. Seifer had better behave himself. I hope you're wearing something nice. 3/Nami_

Roxas blushed a little at her last comment.

_I hurt his chances of ever having children today. It's not a date, Nami. ~rox~_

_Regardless. Just keep Seifer away and you'll be fine. And I'll be expecting an update telling me how tonight went. ;] 3/Nami_

_Riiiight, Namine. ~rox~_

She was ridiculous! Roxas had only really talked to him once, and that was only last night!

…but she was usually right, so Roxas checked quickly to make sure his jeans and black high-collared shirt were acceptable. After passing inspection, the bus pulled to his stop and he hopped off, walking straight toward the building with the first true smile he'd worn in a while decorating his face.

* * *

_In the most unexpected places, I see changes._


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, so I'm about six hours outside the time I said I would be posting. -begs forgiveness- The computer started freaking out, and I hadn't slept properly in four days. (Also fell asleep on my homework... =/)  
**

**Anyways. Welcome to the new chapter! You get some fluffiness, you AkuRoku people. Well, kinda fluffy. Double warning, Axel and Roxas speak a little bit of German. If you really wanna know what they say, it's at the end of the chapter.**

**Thanks for all the comments, everyone! I enjoy reading them immensely! It's also a nice change from my other fics not really having many, and I'm thankful to say this has outdone their numbers in reviews.  
**

**_Oblivious_: I do indeed know FMA, it's one of my favorite animes, and it is pretty good equivalent exchange since your comment cheered me up when I was in a _really _bad mood. I'm glad you think it's realistic, I'm trying to get it to be and thankfully I'm writing from lack of experience for the most part. I'm also glad that you understand the characters, it's really nice that someone gets my writing that way. With Roxy, two-dimensional would be bad, lol. If he focused on his problems at home I would definitely have a hard time writing this, and that's probably what would have caused the five-chapter fic had I not changed my mind. Thank you again for commenting so consistently!**

**I'm going to shut up now, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Roxas wasn't sure if Axel was home when he knocked on apartment 3F's door, but soon it opened and the redhead was seen scratching the back of his head. "Hey Roxas." Axel greeted, stepping aside to let him enter.

"Hey Axel. You seem like you're home from school early." Roxas set his bag down near the couch and marveled at the amount of video games the pyro possessed.

"The only good thing about Hollow Bastion is that they let you out an hour earlier than anyone else." He laughed. He saw Roxas eyeing the games and waved toward them. "Pick one out. We can play for awhile, if you want."

Roxas nodded and Axel watched amusedly as the blonde took well over ten minutes considering all the games before settling on Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2.

"Never picked you as a ninja guy." He chuckled as he put it into the PlayStation.

"I never picked you as a firefighter." Roxas joked back before his Byakugan Hinata began to beat the crap out of Axel's Sasuke.

* * *

Axel and Roxas sat at the dining room table eating grilled cheese. Axel had confessed that he usually burned everything, so Roxas had cooked using the only safe food items he could find; cheese and bread.

"Oh man, I'm gonna have to have you over more often. Having not burnt food is _amazing_." Axel babbled, munching on his fourth sandwich.

"Your food bill." Roxas laughed, finishing the crust of his second.

"So, how'd your day go?" Axel asked, taking a drink from his Mountain Dew Code Red.

Roxas reached for a third sandwich as he thought of how best to edit Seifer out of his day. He decided finally to mention him, but not the extent of the encounter. "Well, I sat through loads of boring classes, got held up by idiots from finishing my map of Germany, and texted an old friend on the way home." He shrugged, ripping the sandwich apart and eating the middle.

"You take German?" Axel wondered out loud; Roxas nodded. "Ich liebe Deutsch."

Roxas laughed loudly. "Ich habe nicht gewusst, dass du auch Deutsch sprichst. Ach!" He fell off of his chair with a loud thud, still laughing. The two continued to laugh at Roxas's clumsiness for a few minutes.

Until they heard Roxas's father downstairs, who'd been woken by the crashing noise, and was now rampaging around the house. "Where the fuck _is_ that boy?!" He thundered, and Roxas could tell he was stomping between his bedroom and the small kitchen.

The younger boy froze, deathly afraid of what would happen to his mother when she got home. His father wasn't normally angry when he woke up, so he would be 'nice' for a while until his mother got home at around eight at night. Then he would get _mean_. Roxas's mom would draw the attention away from her child and allow for him to escape wherever he wanted to go; but if he was already angry, the damage his father would inflict would be _much_ worse, and Roxas would see his mother at her lowest yet again.

Axel reacted the same way, but he didn't know as much about the situation as Roxas did. "You're not going back there tonight until he's gone." He informed him seriously.

The blonde shook his head. "If I don't go now, it'll be that much worse for my mom when she gets home."

"Roxas!"

"Axel. You have no say in what I do, and I'm not subjecting my mother to the sufferance of my pain." He stood up and grabbed his plate, taking it to the sink and looking out the window. Axel could only argue with his back now.

"You're not gonna be a goddamn martyr!" Axel gestured wildly despite the fact that he could only see the other's spiky golden hair.

Roxas had enough; he turned around and also began gesturing, trying to make the other understand. "My mother gets up at three AM and works two full time jobs so she can just barely support us; that bastard makes forty grand a year, but goes out every night and spends it on beer and drugs and women! It kills her that he's not faithful, but she's staying with him because she thinks that one day it'll get better! My brother had the sense enough to get out of here once he was old enough, before it got too bad, and…" The blonde paused, words growing thick in his mouth as he fought to get them out. "…and the least that I can do for her keeping life somewhat stable for me is going downstairs and taking it for her, and you're not going to let me?!" He turned again and buried his head in his hands, not quite crying but clearly upset.

Axel had paused in his argument, taking in what the other teen was telling him. "Roxas…" He started again, moving toward the younger boy. "I don't want you getting hurt because a madman is on a rampage in your apartment."

"Someone's going to get hurt! It might as well be a little bit on two parts instead of killing one! He throws stuff at her; plates and mugs and _knives_! That night when I first talked to you, he smashed the glass from the coffee table over her _head_!" Roxas shrieked.

"Settle down, Roxas!" Axel shouted at him, stepping closer to him.

"How can I _settle down_?! You're condemning my mother to possible _death_ and…" At that moment, Axel pushed Roxas's arms down lightly and wrapped his own around him.

"Just calm down. If you're that set on getting yourself hurt, I'm not going to be able to stop you." The redhead knew when he couldn't win a battle, and the small blonde was one of those situations where he just had to step aside and let free will take its' course. He also knew that the only thing to slow the kid down would be the shock factor, and there was no better way to do it than physical contact.

"Axel…" Roxas said in shock. He automatically reached his own arms around the older teenager and buried his head in his shoulder.

They stood that way for a few minutes, listening to each other's breathing and the faint sounds of a sitcom on the television downstairs. "…thanks." Roxas finally finished his sentence. "I guess you do understand a bit more than I gave you credit for."

Axel smiled as he rested his head on the blonde's. "Probably. My parents weren't as violent as yours, but I still understand." His head bobbed up and down as the one beneath him nodded.

"I should go… He should be done by the time she gets home if I get down there now." Roxas murmured and broke away from Axel gently; the redhead let him go without a fight.

"Just come back up here when he's done, got it memorized?" Axel pointed a long index finger to Roxas's temple, who nodded.

"I've still got homework to do, anyways."

"I'll take care of most of it for you, just come back in one piece." Axel sighed.

"Get music ready, I won't want to hear the outside world for a while." With these parting words, Roxas slipped out of the apartment and proceeded to the stairwell.

* * *

Axel heard exactly when Roxas entered the house downstairs. A soft voice could be heard, though not clearly, and Roxas's father began screaming obscenities shortly afterward.

"Worthless _bastard_, no son of _mine_ would _ever_ be late…!" The voice roared as Axel pulled Roxas's Statistics homework onto the couch with himself and began to perform the tedious work. He flinched every time he heard something- someone?- slam against an object underneath him, and prayed that the blonde would be alright.

* * *

One level below, Roxas's back slammed against the wall yet again and he slipped down to the floor. He cleared his mind before he was lifted up by his neck and the action was repeated. He was left there, his feet dangling a good six inches above the worn carpeting. "Are you ever going to be late again?!" The man holding him up snarled.

"No, father." Roxas responded, pain seeping into his voice. He was definitely going to be sporting colorful bruises in the morning, and could feel blood trickling down his face from a cut on his forehead.

The hand holding him up released him, causing him to crash once again to the ground with a groan. Satisfied, Roxas's assailant padded out to the kitchen to retrieve something to eat and finally seated himself in the recliner directly facing the television.

Once he felt he could move again, Roxas took advantage of the loud voices accompanying the actors on the screen to slip out the door and up to Axel's.

The redhead had finished Roxas's statistics, physics, and German homework and was collecting CDs from his room when he heard a soft knock on the door. Checking the peep hole quickly, he opened the door and ushered Roxas inside, sitting him on the couch and cleaning the blood from his face.

"See? Not too bad. No broken bones." Roxas joked weakly. Axel gave him a serious look and continued to bandage the cut before moving to the bruises.

"I need to leave my mom a note that I'm not in there; if I tape it near the door she'll see it." Roxas stated a few minutes later, wincing as Axel administered his first aid.

"You write it and I'll put it down there; you're not going back down until he's gone." Axel commented as he closed the kit and gave Roxas a notebook and pen.

Roxas wrote his note and Axel left for two minutes, promising he wouldn't start any fights with the man downstairs ("Even though he fucking _deserves_ it"). He was back within the allotted time and, after he sat down, pulled Roxas back into his arms.

"I hope you know I _really_ didn't want to let you go." He told the younger.

"I know." Roxas responded softly, enjoying the contact that wasn't abusive.

"I'm not freaking you out with this hugging thing, am I?" Axel questioned, looking down past the spikes and into Roxas's eyes.

"No. You're not really the type, but it lets me know that not everyone's like him." He put his head back to Axel's chest, knowing that later this wouldn't be the same; it was only caused by his resolve to go downstairs and take some of the blame for something that wasn't his fault. When they broke apart, they would be friends who joked and played video games and hung out every single day. But nothing more; and that was okay.

_When you feel that way again, you have to stop your thinking.

* * *

_

_Axel: "Ich liebe Deutsch." - I love German._

_Roxas: "Ich habe nicht gewusst, dass du auch Deutsch sprichst. Ach!" - I didn't know that you spoke German too! Ah! (He obviously says "aah!" because he fell off the chair.)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome to a new chapter. Who else got upset over the login thing? Glad they got that resolved before my update day.**

**So I'm in a really bad mood right now. Thankfully I wrote this chapter a week ago and it doesn't reflect in the fic. Might write some angsty oneshot or something, though. Amy Lee's loud voice in your ears probably doesn't help when you're having an emo fit.**

**_Oblivious_: Roy Mustang=Love. Hence my penname. XD. Sorry, Axel knows German, and I wish he'd help me by researching enough stuff on it to talk about for five minutes. Wish I had a mother hen Axel. Oh geez, the mental images coming to me from pregnant Axel references. I'll have you know I just read a story about Axel thinking he could get pregnant while he was freaking wasted beyond belief. Rambling is fun! I'm doing it now! Making Roxas's dad an arse is fun. Well, not for Roxas, but oh, the plot! Some sort of epic twist that would make you smack your head on a desk in a positive and nonviolent manner...hm. Well, tell me if that happens. Stories without twists are french fries, not the kind from Arby's that are curly.**

**Thank you to the other reviewers! I love you guys. You make me smile when I get home from school. That's difficult to accomplish.  
**

**Are Axel and Roxas making out yet? No? Guess I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Or Halo, come to think of it. Damn... Enjoy the story anyways!** **(Especially the fluff. I took it out of my pillow just for you guys.**)

* * *

Roxas groaned softly; the sunlight was streaming in through an open window and disturbing his slumber. He looked around and noticed that he wasn't in his bed, but lying on the floor next to a still-slumbering redhead. The other's mouth was wide open and he was snoring softly, his nose occasionally twitching in his sleep. Roxas chuckled softly.

It was Saturday morning, and Axel and Roxas had decided that a sleepover would be fun, as long as the definition of 'sleepover' meant 'stay-up-until-five-AM-and-play-video-games-constantly'. Axel, despite his definition, had only made it to 3 AM and Roxas decided that playing Halo alone wouldn't be fun.

Roxas got up slowly and proceeded to the kitchen, grabbing the frozen waffles out of the freezer and pushing them into the toaster. He'd been spending most of his time here, leading to him and Axel going to the store so Roxas could buy food. This also led to an incident including eggs and Axel's hair which was never to be spoken of ever again, much to the younger's dismay. He waited as the first two pieces warmed, putting in another set once they were done.

He walked back out to the living room and stood over Axel. The blonde was searching his head for the best way to wake the other up, shoving certain thoughts from his mind as he finally settled on 'kicking' him awake. His foot rested on top of Axel's stomach and pushed lightly, snickering as he did so.

Feeling pressure on his body, Axel's eyes flew open and he slapped the foot away quickly. Once his eyesight straightened out, he noticed Roxas laughing above him. "Breakfast." The blonde got out between laughs.

"That wasn't funny, kid." Axel grumbled and pushed his blanket aside. The toaster made a dinging noise to signify it was done cooking.

"Nah, but you are when you sleep." Roxas's eyes were shining happily as he pulled Axel up, running into the kitchen and putting their breakfast on the table. The redhead lumbered to the linoleum covered area slowly, sitting down as waffles, butter, and syrup appeared before him. He was _not_ a morning person.

Axel inhaled his breakfast and Roxas gave him one of his waffles. He wasn't used to eating in the morning, and munched on his waffle plain as Axel drowned the newly-acquired food in syrup.

"You'd never heard of frozen food before?" Roxas asked again. The trip to the supermarket had been entertaining to say the least, especially once the redhead realized that there was precooked food that only needed to be heated.

"Not really. My mom cooked every night, so we never had any of that when I grew up." Axel confirmed as he pushed the last of the waffle into his mouth. "Wasn't allowed to have frozen food. The preservatives are gonna kill me…?" He looked questioningly at the empty plate, as if accusing it of putting the 'murderous' preservatives there. He snorted softly and grabbed their plates, putting them in the sink and running water over them.

"So, we've got the whole day. Then I go home and take care of mom…" Roxas thought through their daily activities, tacking the last one on regretfully.

"But you said she took on a few more hours at work, so she's not there until ten or so." Axel contributed, sitting back down at the table and putting a hand on the blonde's shoulder. An idea came to him. "Hey, the snow's melted and it's kinda warm, wanna go to the Sunset Festival? They have laser tag and rides and lots of other stuff there."

Sunset was a small suburb of Twilight, and held a festival every year as a celebration of music, friends, and mostly the namesake of their town. Roxas had never gone before, so he nodded. "Sounds alright."

Axel looked at the clock and made a face "It's only eleven?!" He groaned. "Eh, it's open now. Let's go get dressed." The boys got up and ran to Axel's bedroom, the long-legged redhead winning the race for the shower.

"My hair takes longer to dry!" He argued as he locked the door.

Roxas pouted and leaned against the wall next to the door with his clothes in his hands. "But you don't do anything with your hair for it to need to be dry!" He replied loudly and fiddled with the sleeve of his white shirt, tracing the black checkers stitched onto it. The water turned on as a reply and Roxas leaned his head against the wall to wait.

Ten minutes later, Axel emerged in black pants and a black shirt with a band logo Roxas had never heard of. "I don't exactly like having wet hair, though." He stated as the blonde got up and walked into the room Axel had just left. Without a word he pulled the blow dryer from under the sink before taking his shower, proceeding to dry his hair once he was done.

"Rox! You never take this long!" Axel shouted through the door.

Roxas opened the door before continuing to spike his hair. "Had to dry it, this gel doesn't stick as well when it's wet." He finished pushing it to one side and washed his hands of the sticky substance, noticing that Axel's hair had almost dried as well. Roxas had dressed in his two-toned pants of khaki and black, using the same high-necked black shirt as the first time he'd come to Axel's house with the partially checkered shirt he'd been fiddling with before to complete his outfit. He also wore two rings, black and white, with a checkered wristband.

"You have a thing for checkers, kid." The redhead commented. Roxas rolled his eyes as if to say 'like I haven't heard _that_ one before' and dropped his old clothes off near a backpack.

"So, are we taking the bus there?" Roxas asked as he returned to the living room, watching Axel pick up their blankets and pillows from the floor.

"I don't have a car, so we're gonna have to unless you wanna walk." Axel picked up his house keys and wallet, shoving them into his pockets. "We'd also better get going before admission goes up to afternoon prices."

Roxas grabbed his cell phone before stating that he was ready and they got onto the nearest bus, riding for half an hour until they reached Sunset Hill, the center of the festival. Roxas looked about in wonder, having never been to a festival with this many people, before dragging an amused Axel toward the rides by the wrist.

* * *

Axel laughed loudly as Roxas glared at him. "You _knew_ I didn't want to be tipped upside down deliberately, but you did it anyways!" The blonde accused. They'd just gotten off the Zipper, a ride in which Axel and Roxas were strapped into a cage that could flipped and spun around. Roxas, terrified, had clung to Axel so tightly he was sure Roxas had bruised his ribcage.

"C'mon Rox, you're alright. I'll make it up to you." Axel pulled them into an ice cream line. He received the sight of spiked golden hair as protest. "Roxy…" He pleaded. No response.

Axel sighed loudly. "I won't flip you upside down or do anything you don't want on rides again, got it memorized?" He promised. Roxas faced forward, but still didn't say anything and only looked curiously at the blue ice cream he was sure he'd never had before in his life.

"Sea salt?" He responded questioningly when Axel ordered for him.

"It's good." Axel replied, taking the treats and giving one to Roxas. "You'll like it."

Roxas liked it a lot, and he started talking to Axel again.

* * *

The two friends walked along near a man-made stream, enjoying the namesake of the town immensely. The orange was mixing perfectly with the bright yellow of the sun, which caused the clouds above them to be tinted a pink color that reminded Roxas of the carnations girls at school received on Valentine's Day.

Roxas smiled; today had been fun, even if Axel had tipped him upside down. They reached the end of the little pavilion and Axel leaned against the wall that kept children from falling over the steep cliff on the other side.

"Good festival?" Axel questioned, looking over at the blonde's happy expression. He only nodded as the wind blew through his spiked hair.

"Thanks for bringing me, Axel." The redhead was framed against the beautiful skyline when Roxas looked at him, the only inconsistency with the warm color scheme being his sparkling emerald eyes.

"Anytime, kid." He ruffled Roxas's hair, earning a disgruntled look from the 'kid'. Axel chuckled to himself and looked back toward the sunset.

The bright yellow orb had almost vanished when a voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled over the area. "Well, isn't this cute."

Both turned around, Roxas rigidly, to see another blonde and his entourage behind them. "Go away, Seifer." Roxas responded, subconsciously inching toward Axel. The action didn't go unnoticed by the redhead.

"I haven't done anything… Can't I watch the sunset?" Seifer spoke in a tone that was almost mocking. "You're not together, are you?" He sneered.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but Roxas doesn't want you here, so get lost." Axel stepped forward, angling himself between Seifer and Roxas.

"I'm crushed, Roxy. You got together with someone else?" Rai and Fuu stood behind Seifer, uncomfortable with the proceedings but unwilling to show it. Doing things like this in school was fine, nobody would ever think of crossing them. In public, however, there were more people that didn't know them, people that would object. They maintained their positions.

"Well I certainly wasn't together with you, if that's what you mean." Roxas stepped to the side again, this time putting himself beside Axel. "Why don't you go make out with Rai or something? It seems about par for you."

"I told you not to dis Seifer, y'know?!" Rai shouted from behind his leader. Fuu only sighed at the male's idiocy, rolling her eyes before slapping him on the back of the head. "Quiet."

"Look here, Red." Seifer walked forward and placed his face inches from Axel's. "Roxas is _mine_. Back off."

Axel shoved the tall blonde, making him stumble back a couple of feet. "Roxas doesn't belong to anybody, he's his own man. And it's none of your business who he's going out with." He glared at Seifer with a look that could put mafia bosses to shame. "Now leave. He doesn't want you here."

Seifer glared at Roxas balefully, who returned the gaze with as much hatred as could ever exist in his body. The senior finally turned around and stalked away, muttering a "come _on_ you idiots" to Rai and Fuu as he passed them. Once he was sure they were gone, Axel turned to Roxas and pointed a thumb in their direction while tilting his head sideways.

"Mind telling me what the hell _that_ was all about?"

Roxas looked at the ground, biting his lip slightly. He was afraid that Axel would think he was disgusting, make him get mental help, go fight Seifer alone… "I'd rather not."

Axel sighed, a common reaction when he was around the blonde. "Roxas… is that why you freaked out when I called you Roxy the first time?"

Roxas leaned his forearms against the wall and looked out toward the now-fading sunset. What had been so beautiful and inspiring a few moments prior was now irritating; he'd rather be shrouded in the darkness that would swallow all of his emotions. "Yeah." He finally responded.

Axel sat against the wall, facing a memorial to something or another that incorporated the stream to make a fountain. "How long has he been forcing himself on you?" He asked, covering his face with one of his large hands.

"Middle of freshman year; since I turned him down. I guess about a year." Roxas looked down at Axel, noting his exasperated position. "Before you even ask, there was nobody to tell. Nobody cared. They'd probably even support him, he's so _amazing_…." Roxas rolled his eyes at that. "He's a State Champion in Wrestling."

"He's not a champion of _anything_ if he does that." Axel responded bluntly.

"How did you know, anyways?" Roxas wondered aloud. "He never made any references."

"I can tell when you edit things out of your days, and you've been getting extra bruises."

"Oh."

Axel dragged his hand away from his face slowly. "I'm transferring back to Twilight." He stated. "That bastard's not gonna do that any more, and if he does you're gonna tell me, got it memorized?" He looked at the blonde, willing him to comply.

Roxas looked at Axel for a few moments, wondering when exactly he'd gained a friend that would transfer schools just to keep some creep off of him. "Yeah. It's memorized."

He pulled Axel up like he had this morning and the two walked away, their moods lightening as they walked away from the area. They figured that the worst of their problems had yet to begin when Seifer was concerned, but they would take it in stride. Most importantly, though, they would take it on together.

_We're going down together and all in all, it's not so bad.

* * *

_

**DOES AXEL LIKE WAFFLES?!?!?!?! (I'm acting weird to try to cheer myself up. Not working.)**** The ending might have been cheesy fries from Beef-a-Roo (if you have no clue what that is, I'm sorry, local restaurant thingy!). Oh, struggling=wrestling. Sounds kinda similar. I guess.  
**

**Seifer's a little bitch. Axel's getting possessive. Roxas is amazing, like always. XD Feedback for Nikki, please?**_  
_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey people! I'm in a happy mood for once when I'm updating this, which is rare...but good. If only I didn't have to come up with a report on Dresden tonight... life would be amazing. [[I just turned in the giant research paper. With great amounts of luck and deities liking me, maybe I'll pass.]]**

**Also, does anyone remember Roxas' giant map of Germany? Well, there's a picture of it on deviantART (linked via my profile). It was turned in today! Er, yesterday. Tuesday.  
**

**_Oblivious_: It's alright, not a lot of people make that connection. Then again, not a lot of people I know watch FMA.  
HAHAHA, EPIC. He is pretty epic. I looked at his FF-self and like it a lot better than his KH self, though. One of your trio appears...see below. XD  
WHATdrama?! Well, little bits, I guess. It'll unfold eventually, if it's not already, but it's not all concentrated on one spot yet. -evil laugh-  
Your comment actually did cheer me up, and I thank you for it, so it's an epic WIN not a FAIL. I would love to ruffle Roxas's hair, it would make my day. Here's more for you! =D  
**

**So, small amounts of fluff and angst in this. You get to meet a new character that's been kept in the dark for a bit, though. I think he's been mentioned...once or twice. Someone's gonna end up fangirling by the end of this...fanboying? Slight mention of Axel's situation.**

**I own Roxas' giant map of Germany. Er, he owns my map? Our map? I don't own Kingdom Hearts. ...but I'm getting an Organization XIII cloak!**

* * *

Roxas whimpered in his sleep, drawing closer to the body that had wrapped their arms around him. He buried his head in the person's shoulder, messing his hair up even further in the process.

Axel sighed and watched the boy he was holding slumber fitfully; he'd taken to sleeping in the upstairs apartment after it was insisted upon that he do so, and considering Axel only had one bed, the pyro was willing to let Roxas sleep in it. The stubborn blonde, however, wouldn't kick the owner of the apartment from his comfortable sleeping space. Of course neither would budge in their argument, leading to the current sleeping arrangements. Thankfully the bed was large enough for the both of them to fit comfortably.

Axel wanted to give Roxas his own room to stay in whenever his parents were going at it, but regretfully his mother only supplied him with enough monthly income to pay the rent, utilities, and buy groceries. After numerous instances of Axel getting caught in the crossfire of her and her husband's fights, she had decided him living elsewhere was better in the long run. Therefore he didn't have a cell phone or car, much less an extra bed for the other boy to sleep in.

Roxas whined again, his nightmare continuing. This was the third time this week he was having nightmares, and it was worrying the redhead. Not to mention Roxas was still getting injuries, the severity of which were increasing daily. Axel wanted to transfer as soon as possible, but the school board's office downtown wasn't able to do so for at least another week.

Axel attempted to smooth Roxas's unruly hair down, whispering softly into his ear. The boy finally settled down, relaxing his death grip on Axel's shirt and mumbling incoherently to himself. Giving a sigh of relief, Axel released the blonde and rolled slightly away from him. He silently resolved to find out what was bothering Roxas so much.

* * *

"I'll pick you up at 3:30, got it memorized?"

"I'm not five, Axel, I can take a bus home by myself."

Axel was walking Roxas to Twilight High School, despite the younger teen's protests. Roxas had no way of knowing what he was doing at night that was causing the redhead to be concerned about his daily activities, and found the short leash he was being kept on irritating.

"Just let me." Axel pleaded, his eyes begging. If he was doing this, it would isolate the time of the incidents to during or after school, and from there on he'd have to wait the time until he transferred before he could take care of anything.

Roxas looked at Axel, eyes confused. "…okay." He relented after a few minutes, searching the taller boy's eyes for the reason he was being so adamant. The bell rang, signaling five minutes until classes began. "But tell me why later."

"Maybe." Axel relented slightly, his mood lightening. His fingertips caught Roxas's momentarily, a new way he'd discovered of telling him goodbye. "I'll see you after school."

The blonde gave him a crooked smile. "Yeah. See you, Axel." The blonde readjusted his messenger bag as he walked up to the school, flipping out his phone and quickly texting to Naminé as he entered the door.

"I'm going to have to get a cell phone…" Axel muttered to himself as he set off toward Hollow Bastion, glad he'd obtained late arrival for himself at the beginning of the year.

* * *

A voice squawked over the loudspeaker, announcing the unfortunate students that were being called to the office. Roxas tuned the obnoxious messages out, opting to doodle in his spare notebook instead.

"Roxas!" A voice called from the front of the room just as said boy was finishing the shading of a chain link.

The blonde looked up at the teacher, alarmed. "Yes, Mr. Leonhart?"

The man frowned at the inattentive student, the scar on his face making the look twice as scary. "You've been ordered to the office immediately. Take your things in case you don't return."

Roxas shrugged, shoving the notebook back into his now empty bag and picking it up from the floor. "Yes sir." He replied, fighting the urge to throw a mock salute and leaving the classroom swiftly. He reached the office in a personal record of three minutes, which was saying something as the school was quite large.

"You've been commissioned to work on a special project." The secretary told him as she handed him a manila envelope and hall pass over the counter. "You're to go to the theatre immediately."

Roxas nodded, exiting the brightly lit office and walking toward the auditorium, which he knew was in the middle of planning for a production by the theater department. He examined the sealed envelope quizzically before sliding his index finger under the flap and ripping it open, foregoing the metal prongs altogether.

Much to his surprise, it had information on a special art project that was addressed to Naminé. He pushed the door to the theater open. "What is this doing here, Nami doesn't even go to Twilight anymore…"

The door slammed shut and a hand was pressed over his mouth, effectively gagging him. "You're gonna tell me about this boyfriend of yours, got it?" Seifer commanded Roxas, who dropped the envelope without a second thought and elbowed the senior in the gut. This allowed him to break free, running down the aisle.

"Why the hell are you here?!" He shouted, clambering up onto the dimly lit stage. "You set this up, didn't you?"

"It's not hard to find letters addressed to Naminé here, even though she's been gone for a year." Seifer smirked, already recovered from the injury. "I just needed something to lure you out."

"You're one sick bastard, you know that?!" Roxas shouted as he searched for an object to defend himself with, grabbing a nearby broom and swinging it at the ever-advancing Seifer, who grabbed the object and pulled it away from Roxas, throwing it away behind him.

"So I've been told." He grabbed Roxas by the wrists and wrestled him to the ground, pinning him down and running a hand up and down the younger boy's side, eliciting an unwilling shudder from the sophomore.

"Give it _up_, I said before I didn't want to go out with you, and this _isn't_ helping!" Roxas struggled futilely, earning a grin from above him.

"That's right. I'd nearly forgotten…" Seifer bent down, stealing a quick kiss before leaning to Roxas's ear. "Tell me about this boyfriend of yours."

* * *

Completely forgetting about the rest of his classes, Roxas ran straight out of the building and through the town, no destination set in his mind as his feet pounded against the pavement. He soon found himself at the bike path and his feet settled into a quicker rhythm as he screamed, not needing music to give him the words this time. These were his words that came easily to him; no lyricist he knew of on his iPod could relate to his current situation.

About an hour later, Roxas collapsed against a sign near a park. He'd screamed himself hoarse and he was drenched in sweat, shaking slightly as the wind picked up and dried the thin layer onto his skin. A pair of sneaker-clad feet stopped in front of him, and Roxas really didn't care until he heard his name.

Looking up, he saw the one face he was sure he wouldn't see for a while yet. "Cloud?" He questioned, shivering again slightly. The older blonde took his black jacket off, wrapping it around Roxas and helping him up.

"Come on, you're not sitting out here." Cloud commanded as he led the boy to his car, thankful he'd actually brought it today instead of the motorcycle. Once they were both seated and the heater was on, Roxas began to speak.

"What are you doing here?" He wondered, nesting his face closer into the warm fabric.

Cloud sighed. "Exercising on the bike path, obviously." He said to the windshield. His head tilted slightly as he looked at the passenger seat. "What are you doing here, don't you have school?"

"Don't you have work?" Roxas countered angrily.

"Roxas…" Cloud warned. Both lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. "How's mom?" Cloud finally asked, breaking the calm. Roxas shrunk back against the passenger seat, not willing to talk but knowing he still had to.

"Dad's getting worse." He responded in a small voice. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence Roxas checked his phone, noting the time. "Uh, not to break up the brotherly love, but can you drive me back to school? My friend's picking me up and he's going to get upset if I'm not there."

Cloud started the car fully, putting it into reverse and pulling into the busy highway traffic. "That reminds me, why were you skipping?" He stated, his tone clearly stating that he didn't approve.

"…stuff happened. I'd rather not talk about it." Roxas squirmed in the seat and pulled his seatbelt on. "I know you don't like me skipping, I've got that memorized."

The driver raised an eyebrow at his little brother, not commenting on the strange speech pattern as he drove the familiar streets towards Twilight. "Would you like my phone number? Next time something happens we can talk about it."

"I think I'll get enough talking from Axel, but sure." Roxas handed his phone to Cloud, who programmed the number in quickly as he drove.

"So who's this Axel?" Cloud turned a final corner, stopping in front of the school at 3:26 PM. He may not have been around as much any more, but he was still concerned with who his little brother spent time with. Some of the people around Twilight weren't the most savory of characters.

"A friend. I spend a lot of time over at his house since, well, you know." Roxas shrugged and put the track jacket over the back of his seat. "Thanks Cloud."

Cloud waved it off. "It was good seeing you, even if you were skipping." He also shrugged and smiled at his little brother. "Take care of yourself."

"I will. Thanks again, I'll call you sometime." Roxas opened the door and retrieved his bag, waving as Cloud drove away. The bus drove up a minute later and Roxas could clearly see spiked red hair through the windows. Roxas stepped on before Axel could get off, scanning his bus pass and taking a seat next to his friend.

"How did today go?" Axel asked, assuming it wasn't too good when Roxas sat a little closer to him than usual.

"Skipped class, saw my brother for the first time in a few years." Roxas shrugged as goosebumps covered his arms, causing him to cover them with his hands. Axel handed him a red zip-up hoodie, which he pulled on thankfully.

"How was it?"

"Better than the rest of the day." Roxas pulled the hood up and hid his mouth in the neck of the oversized clothing item, burying his hands in the pockets. Axel didn't ask, only dragged Roxas's bag over by his feet as a silent promise to carry it upstairs. Roxas leaned sideways, resting his head on Axel's shoulder in also-silent thanks, leaving the redhead to wonder what exactly had happened today.

_Cover your face and let's pretend these killing lights won't kill us all again.

* * *

_

**Okay, Seifer's more than a _little _bitch now. How'd you all enjoy Cloud? And the fluff. Personally, I love the fluff. I made Leon scary... ^^  
**

**Also, if any of you recognize the lyrics from the songs at the end of the chapter you should let me know, it'd be interesting to find out how many of you know them. (I'll try not to use German ones...) Or if you want to know, message me and I'll message you back with a list. I also might go back and give the first few chapters a song... make a giant playlist of it.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey there, kids.**

**In case you care about my boringish life, I send off the payment for my OrgXIII coat tomorrow, ordered my boots on Monday, and ordered a random Roxas necklace yesterday. Oh, and I just sketched out plans for a Kingdom Key. Now I need my friend to cut the pieces out of wood. And give me epoxy. -grins- And then I get to sketch out his chakrams and my Oblivion/Oathkeeper. -dies- I hate being exact on proportions and mathematics.**

**...yet I love math. How weird. Probably has something to do with the teacher.  
**

**_Oblivious_: Yes, it is quite cool. It's gonna cost me quite a bit of cold hard cash too, though. That thing costs $300. Altogether a Roxas cosplay is costing me $350. Hahaha Seifer-bitch incident, I want to use that term more often. They are quite similar, so I figured hey, why not, sounds interesting enough. And actually I wrote him in before you asked about him. ;] I'm glad I got the amount of detail right, that's always a hard equilibrium to find. I hope I get a good mark on my paper too, she's gonna take like a month to grade them though, I hate research papers... I thought adding the line in was cute, so I went for it. I'm glad it's your favorite, it's one of mine too. =] FLUFF indeed.**

**I hope you all enjoy the chapter... something happens you've been waiting for...**

**I'm going to own a Kingdom Key soon, but that doesn't mean I own Kingdom Hearts. But apparently I can lock worlds. HOW COOL IS THAT?!**

* * *

"Come on, we're going to be late!" Roxas called into apartment, snorting impatiently as Axel stumbled out of the kitchen with a piece of toast still in his mouth.

"Give me a break, I'm still used to Hollow Bastion time." The redhead grumbled and slipped his shoes on, locking the door behind him before he and Roxas dashed down the stairs and barely caught their bus.

"You're not going to be late on your first day." Roxas told him, determined to make his words true. Axel shrugged, collapsing against the seat and snoring uncharacteristically loudly. Roxas rolled his eyes.

Their stop finally came and Roxas pulled the cord to signify that they needed to get off, standing and attempting to hoist Axel up by his wrist. The redhead grabbed Roxas's hand before getting up groggily, letting go only to let him get off the bus. They walked up to the door a full half hour early, easily getting inside and to the office.

Axel filled out his book rental forms while Roxas waited and looked over the new schedule, happy to find that they had they had half their classes together. Roxas was in higher math and sciences, so he often had classes with juniors like Axel. The redhead was soon stumbling through the still nearly empty halls with a heavy stack of books, causing the blonde to laugh before grabbing half of the stack and helping to shove the textbooks into his new beige locker.

"Well, looks like you have English first." Roxas commented, handing him a green book. Axel frowned at the book before dropping it into his bag, grabbing his physics book for the hour afterward as well.

"You have World History, right?" Roxas nodded. "I'll pick you up. Fake not knowing the school as an excuse to leave early." The redhead winked at the blonde.

"Shouldn't you be making a _good_ impression?" Roxas wondered, closing the locker for him as they walked towards his.

"Good is relative to what they already know. I'm assuming they don't know much, so I will be acting good to them." He talked idly, turning a corner and wondering why Roxas froze. "What's up, kid…?"

"Well well, if it isn't Red."

Axel dropped his bag and stepped forward. "Oh, not you again." He was face to face with none other than Seifer. Rai was frantically trying to finish his calculus despite not understanding the topic and Fuu was observing her nails with idle curiosity.

"So, you go here now?" Seifer wondered, grabbing his calculus textbook from his locker.

"Yeah, so I can keep your hands off of Roxas, got it memorized?" The redhead stepped forward, hand already clenched into a fist.

"Axel!" Roxas shouted, scooping up the extra backpack before grabbing his friend's arm and pulling. "Stop it, not on your first day, let's go..!" Axel brushed him off, refusing to budge an inch.

"Roxy's right, you know. You don't want to start anything with us _here_." Seifer smirked. "They won't believe you, even if you say anything. This is our turf."

"Maybe I'll just make them see the truth, then!" Axel shouted. Roxas stepped in front of Axel, blocking his path to Seifer.

"Will you _listen_ to me? Let's _go_!" Roxas put his hands against Axel's shoulders and pushed. The redhead allowed himself to be backed around the corner, where he took deep breaths to calm himself down.

"You idiot!" Roxas shouted as he shoved the bag at his friend, unable to put his frustration in any other words. This eloquent selection of words must have upset Axel, because he grabbed Roxas's wrist and dragged him even further away from Seifer's gang.

"Listen here. I transferred here to protect _you_." He punctuated his sentence by jabbing Roxas in the chest. "And I'm going to do it, got it memorized?"

"You're not going to get in trouble because of me!" Roxas shouted back, slapping Axel's hand away. "That's the _last_ thing I want happening to you!"

"You know what? It's going to happen eventually, because you've got that prick chasing after you! I'm the only one that cares that it's happening, let me do something about it!" Axel's voice dropped slightly. "Let me, please." He said softly, asking permission. "It's why I came here."

"I've survived this long without someone taking care of me, Axel." Roxas stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "And I don't need anyone to start now."

Axel glared at the blonde and threw his hands up. "You're absolutely _hopeless_!" He shouted, exasperated, before turning around and storming off to his English class. Roxas, also near the end of his rope, turned the other way and ran toward History. He slammed down into his seat, causing the nearest girl to inch away from him cautiously, and opened his book to the chapter he'd already read about Feudal Japan.

He sat through the class hour thinking about how Axel was being overprotective. Ten minutes until end of class, his mind began to tell him that perhaps it wasn't so much overprotective as being concerned for Roxas's wellbeing. That was the reason he cited to the blonde for transferring in the first place, after all. He walked into physics and sat at his seat in the back, unsurprised when the teacher sent Axel to sit next to him as it was the only available spot.

Roxas filled in the blanks in his notes all hour and thought some more about their current situation, waiting until five minutes before the bell to pass Axel a note.

_Sorry I'm being an ass. I know you have good intentions. Forgive me?_

Axel read the note with a serious face, contemplating, before a small smile shone through on his face. He scribbled messily on the same note underneath Roxas's neat handwriting, folding the paper into a triangle which Roxas vaguely recognized as a paper football from grade school and flicked it back over to the blonde.

_Sure thing, Roxass._

Roxas rolled his eyes and smiled. Apparently they were talking again.

* * *

The two stumbled out of Advanced German, laughing. Their teacher had performed a certain hand sign that he didn't know had rather crude significance and only they were watching, leaving them laughing outrageously all class for no apparently reason. Then again, they supposed their minds were a lot more open to possibilities than those of their classmates. They'd spent their lives observing everything carefully in order to survive, and references to sex were both abundant and easily understood if one's mind was trained to think in that way.

"Oh man, I can't believe he actually did that!" Axel laughed. Roxas chuckled behind him, pushing the redhead in the right direction toward his locker so he could grab his food and shove the morning's books away. Before long, they were sitting in a corner of the common area eating the lunches Roxas had made last night.

"So, enjoy being back at Twilight?" Roxas asked as he made his way through a roast beef sandwich.

"It's pretty sweet, I'm not gonna lie." Axel grinned and waved to a few of his old friends. He'd been stopped occasionally all day to talk to upperclassmen Roxas didn't know, but the blonde was making friends out of the whole situation. If nothing else, he was happy that his best friend was attending school now. There was only the problem of keeping him away from Seifer, and surely that wasn't too hard.

Until, of course, Axel had been provoked by the blonde senior while Roxas was daydreaming, resulting in the turkey sandwich the redhead had formerly been eating landing on Seifer's head and smearing his favorite beanie with mayonnaise. This subsequently resulted in the entire area joining in on the food fight, and before long Roxas took a break from throwing the remnants of his and other people's lunches to drag Axel from the mess.

"Why didn't I expect that?" He chuckled slightly, brushing some remnants of now unidentifiable food from the sleeve of his shirt. "Aw, hell, someone flung applesauce all over me…" He stuck a finger in the food that was now dripping down onto the bridge of his nose.

Axel leaned forward and licked a small bit off of the other boy's nose. Roxas stood stock-still, staring at the redhead. "Well, I'm not necessarily objecting…" He stated before realizing what he was doing. He began to walk around in circles in front of Roxas, muttering angry words. "…Jesus, and I'm trying _not_ to be like that creep…" He fisted his hands in his hair, pulling at the spikes roughly as he berated himself. He finally stopped and looked at the blonde. "I'm sorry, Rox…"

He was cut off by a set of lips attaching softly, but determinedly, to his own. Roxas's heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's wings, and he was wondering why he had actually done that this time instead of shoving the idea away like he had so many times before.

"Don't worry about it." Roxas breathed quietly once they broke away from each other. They had their privacy, with all of the administrators in the room over trying to unsuccessfully break up the food fight and the all of the students engaging in the activities. Roxas had needed to grab the sides of Axel's shirt to reach his goal and his hands had ventured upwards to rest on the redhead's chest. Axel had responded by leaning down to accommodate the blonde's height and pulling him slightly closer by wrapping his arms tentatively around the younger's waist.

Axel smiled and took another lick of the applesauce. "Sweet, cause this stuff is _really_ good."

Roxas rolled his eyes and wiped the applesauce from his face. Axel sighed in disappointment as they released one another, stepping away so they could look at the damage Axel had caused by flinging his sandwich at one of the most influential people in the school. From what Roxas could tell, Axel had suffered blows from someone's mashed potatoes on one of his pants legs, strawberry jello on his (thankfully) black hoodie, and his hair was covered in crushed Gardettos.

"Being tall makes you a target." Roxas chuckled at the comment as Axel messed his hair up, effectively removing the snack food from the long crimson locks. He then took a nearby piece of abandoned homework and scraped most of the potatoes from his jeans, throwing it under one of the circular tables he knew the girls he couldn't stand gathered around during passing periods and decided he could ignore the quickly disappearing jello stain on his shirt.

"Good to go?" Roxas asked, chuckling to himself once again. He'd taken advantage of his small stature and catapulted fruit over the table he was seeking shelter behind, avoiding all but said apple sauce and two foods that had smashed into one another while flying directly over him, causing the unidentifiable mixture to drop straight down on top of the unfortunate blonde.

Axel nodded and, taking advantage of the lack of wandering eyes, wrapped his large hand around Roxas's before pulling him toward the roundabout way to their lockers. The smaller blonde smiled to himself and readjusted the hold, lacing their fingers together in silent acceptance.

_Take my hand tonight, let's not think about tomorrow.

* * *

_

**EMBRACE THE FLUFF!**

**Yeah, Seifer's (still) a bitch. Who liked the food fight scene?**

**Funnily enough, the German scene really did happen in my class yet again. I always use real-life stuff from classes, makes it more 3D-ish. Especially German. On that note, be sure to look out for my Friday Oneshot dealing with a prompt from my physics class... yes, you heard right, physics. I don't know the pairing yet.**

**Later, kids. Please review...! (I'm close to 50, you see. And that's big for me.)**_  
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	8. Chapter 8

**-bows deeply- I apologize for whatever poor quality this chapter may contain. My muse decided to abandon me two weeks ago and hasn't come back yet. Thankfully I _somehow_** **managed to get this little plot bunny and get a chapter out of it. [[I wanted two, it's not gonna work, I don't think.]] We might have to advance to the super-secret-plot-bunny that even Caius (my content beta) hasn't read.  
**

**On the other hand, I GOT OVER FIFTY REVIEWS! -hands all reviewers sea salt ice cream- Thank you SO much! A special thanks to _Caturae_, who went back and reviewed every one of my chapters! She put me over. ^-^ As a very special thank you, I dedicate this chapter to you. I hope you like it. **

**_Oblivious_: No problem about the mention, you were my first dedicated reviewer, I have much to thank you for. =] And by the way, I don't mind people creepin', I do it enough too. lol. Especially towards Reno lately... -shifty eyes- Also thank you for reviewing Similarities, I liked how I insulted Neji without him even being there to hear it and retaliate. XD The coat is super awesome, that's why I'm even bothering to spend THAT MUCH, lol. It's SO much. Haha, yes, I think you did mention that Axel got action. I hope you gleefully enjoyed my oneshot and am glad that you approve of the chapter. FLUFF forever. Without Seifer poor Roxas would have a lot less to worry about, but life would be far less interesting. So I guess I have to like him a little bit. XD**

**_OBS_: I'm glad you're in love with it, I enjoy writing it. I'll continue it until the end, as long as I don't hit any more roadblocks...**

**Without further delay, here's the chapter!**

**I don't own Sora or Roxas (and consequently Kingdom Hearts), but apparently ownership of Saxor and Aros is still open, so I'll own them. And probably write a story about them later. And Oner! -cackles-**

* * *

Roxas pulled out his Statistics homework, easily filling out the worksheet in only a few minutes and flipping it over so he could write the other problems on the back. "So, what kind of music do you listen to, Ax?"

Axel looked up from the German translation he was still completing. Roxas had finished his just before starting math, despite the redhead's pleading to work slower and let him copy Roxas'. "I dunno, all kinds. Anything except for Miley Cyrus." Axel shuddered at some memory, or perhaps her in general, before putting his pen back to paper.

"I meant what kind did you like." Roxas copied a formula from his orange textbook and looked again at the problem, filling out the probability of picking a blue or an orange M&M from a large bag.

"Probably more rock and metal than anything else." He pointed at the iPod screen attached to his earbuds. Roxas leaned over to see that he was listening to Rammstein.

"German music during your German homework? Good idea." Roxas complimented. "I've actually never thought of that before…"

"It helps me to think more consistently in one language, but I can still speak in English. Not like I really fucking care about some dead guy who carved a bunch of religious things in copper, but I need the grade." Roxas laughed at Axel, who scribbled something else down in his notebook before throwing it aside. "Enough of that shit." He also dug out his Statistics, copying Roxas' work as the blonde handed the worksheet over. "What music do _you_ listen to?"

Roxas thought for a minute. "All kinds, not to steal your 'term' or anything." He put his hands up in air quotes. "Rammstein to Basshunter to Fort Minor to Kelly Clarkson." Axel began laughing at mentions of the last one. "Shut up, some of her stuff is good." Roxas pouted. "It's only like, one song."

"Alright, alright." Axel slowly stopped laughing. "Just give me your iPod instead of trying to describe it. You're doing a horrible job."

Roxas frowned at the description and got up, unplugging his earbuds. He walked toward Axel, 'tripping' as he got close. "Oops, sorry!" He chuckled as he landed on top of the redhead, shoving the homework from his hands as he fell. Their worksheets and textbooks hit the floor with a soft thud.

"I get the feeling that wasn't an accident." Axel chuckled, wrapping his arms around the blonde and running one hand through his short, spiky hair.

"You might be correct in that assumption." Roxas smiled, leaning into the touch slightly and snuggling deeper into Axel's embrace. The others' nimble fingers stole the iPod from Roxas and proceeded to cycle through the songs. "What the hell is this… Why do you still have Good Charlotte on here? That's from a while ago."

"'cause they're still good." Roxas rationalized. Axel shook his head in disbelief. "You don't believe me? I have their CD downstairs. I'll show you."

Axel froze as panic began to rise in his chest once again. "Uh, Rox, your dad's still home…"

"He's asleep right now." Roxas willingly clambered from the redhead's arms, standing up and straightening his shirt out. "You wouldn't object if you came with me, would you?"

Axel thought for a minute. Surely Roxas' father wasn't so strong that Axel couldn't defend both himself and the shorter boy, right? Somehow even this thought wouldn't stop the nagging feeling that something would go wrong if they went downstairs. "Alright, I guess." He gave in when he noticed Roxas pouting rather cutely. "But in and out, no side trips, no messing around, got it memorized?"

"Perfectly." Roxas grinned, dragging Axel up by his wrist. "C'mon."

Axel smiled despite himself and let the blonde force him into a standing position, pulling him in for a hug once he was upright. "We have to be really quick, okay? I don't want anything happening to you because of that lunatic…"

Roxas smiled into Axel's hoodie. "Got it. The sooner we go, the sooner we get out, okay?"

Axel nodded, and the obliviously happy Roxas led him downstairs. Both were silent on the way there, making their trip seem even more like a top-secret reconnaissance mission. Axel reached for the key and easily took it down, allowing Roxas to unlock the door before replacing it. Both crept silently into Roxas' bedroom, where the owner shut the door silently and let a sigh of relief out. "Told you he was asleep. I heard him snoring while we were upstairs."

"Just get the CD and let's go, okay?" Axel was on edge; being so far into 'enemy territory' had him nervous and he would rather not spend time chatting if necessary.

"You're too nervous, Ax." Roxas crossed his room, hugging the other. "Settle down, it's alright. All we have to do is go upstairs and we're home free." He felt Axel nod above him, so he pulled away with a smile and grabbed a few CDs, including a self-titled Good Charlotte CD. "This is one of their best." He explained quietly.

Their mission done, Roxas grabbed Axel's wrist and led him from the bedroom. Their silence had become habitual as they snuck through the house, instinctively avoiding the creaking sections of the floor as they made their way hand-in-hand toward the door. Axel latched the lock behind them without a second thought – though he really did hope that that bastard got shot in his sleep – and both slipped out the door just as stealthily as they had entered.

"Anyways, this really is a good album, it's their first, but it shows a lot of promise…" Roxas' voice faded down the hallway as he walked away from apartment 2F, all worries forgotten; he was with Axel, surely nothing could happen to him as long as his protector was there.

As they had exited, the small blonde had failed to notice the absence of the ever-present snoring that indicated his father was asleep. "No son of _mine_ would do _that_ in _my_ house with some _bastard_…" A voice hissed softly through a bedroom door, the light from the window in the living room barely revealing the silhouette of Roxas' father.

* * *

The two boys reached the door of 3F, smiling broadly. "See, I told you nothing would happen." Roxas chirped as they entered, walking over to the PlayStation and putting the CD in, allowing Axel to hear the music that had gotten him hooked on 'punk' for the first time in years.

"Yeah…" He agreed absentmindedly, pulling Roxas down onto his lap and holding him securely in his arms. Roxas didn't object, enjoying the contact, and turned halfway around to lay his head on Axel's shoulder.

_No need for nervousness, it's just a little turbulence._

_

* * *

_

**Guess that song. =]**

**Who hates me? Or rather, Roxas' father. I don't know why I picked the bands I did, but I do listen to all music mentioned here. Axel's got special psychic powers, maybe?**

**Sorry if I have issues writing them together, the only real 'relationship' I've had was over the summer with a guy I worked with [[forbidden unmentionable kind-of romance much XD]] and I dunno if it traumatized me or what, but yeah. I don't know...**

**I'm wearing all green. Happy belated St. Patrick's Day! Reviews make me smile more than corned beef and cabbage. Which is a LOT.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Welcome back to another chapter! Sorry for the ever-lengthening time between updates, I'm afraid the muses have abandoned me again... finicky daughters of Jupiter... oh, I watched Xanadu, that's basically the only reason I remember that right now. Geez, that upped my quota of trippy movies to two-per-week. Together with Apocalypse Now. Since the original title of that was "The Psychedelic Soldier." XD**

**So, this one's kind of short. -dodges thrown items- And I'm afraid I don't think I've improved any on the advice given to me in prior reviews. But I am trying.**

**My boots should be coming tomorrow, according to UPS, as should my man-shirt. I haz 30 Seconds to Mars shirt now. I really should include them sometime, they're good. I wish my Roxas necklace were here. -sigh- And that my Slytherin Quidditch Team shirt fit. Radish earrings are almost done, too. Now if only I could convince that one girl to stop trying to get me a prom date... Ahem, moving on.  
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**Thanks to _Zoeybell _for knowing the title of the last song! Which is _Bring It (Snakes on a Plane)_ by Cobra Starship, by the way. And as clarification, Roxas' dad jumps to conclusions quite easily, and has a very, er... "strong sense of justice" within him. Or something like that. So anything involving physical contact between boys warrants his actions. Yes, he's severely homophobic. Another reason to hate him with a passion.**

**SORRY TO THOSE WHOSE REVIEWS I HAVEN'T REPLIED TO YET; I WILL GET TO THEM EVENTUALLY, I'M JUST REALLY BUSY. -begs forgiveness-  
**

**Thanks to teh reviewers and alert people! I hope I don't lose that... on to the story!**

**I own a drawing of a paopu. Although this is a predominant theme in Kingdom Hearts, I still don't own it. Squeenix does. Lucky bastards...**

* * *

Eyes blinked open, searching through the darkness for any sign of light in which to determine the time. The entire room was cast in shadows, making identification of anything difficult save for those items near the dim red glow being cast by the digital clock lying next to the bed. 11:34 PM.

Roxas groaned softly. His mother was surely home, and his father would more than likely have finished his business by then. He yawned and pushed Axel's arm from around his waist, sleepily pulling on Axel's large red hoodie and his checkered vans to accompany his black shorts before standing up fully. Forgetting the fact that Axel had wanted Roxas to wake him up before he left to take care of his mother, the blonde slipped out the bedroom door and downstairs, retrieving the key and opening the door to his family's apartment.

Silence reigned as Roxas sidestepped the creaking floorboards in the entryway, slipping silently toward the living room. He began to get shivers down his spine; it was like he was being watched, but surely he wasn't, was he? He shook his head slightly before continuing onward. _That's stupid_, he thought to himself_. Nobody can get in here without the key, and that was right where it's supposed to be_. Only after searching every shadowed area twice at the very least did he realize that his mother wasn't anywhere to be found in the vicinity.

Raising an eyebrow, Roxas turned toward the guest bedroom. His mother always slept there; they never had any visitors, so there would be no reason to keep the room open. He crept over toward the door, never betraying his location with a single sound, and reached toward the handle with a sweaty palm. The worst could be on the other side of that door, and Roxas would be powerless to stop it. He wrenched his eyes shut and opened the door swiftly, peering inside only once he knew it was open enough to see inside.

Only to see his mother sleeping soundly, smiling and seemingly unharmed. Roxas breathed a sigh of relief; apparently his father hadn't been home when she'd arrived. He thanked whatever gods above extensively just before a hand clamped over his mouth, muffling any cries of protest he made as its' partner closed the door quietly.

"You disgusting piece of trash," Roxas heard a voice speak into his ear. "How dare you even attempt to come back into this house after committing such sins?" His eyes widened and he acted on instinct, jabbing his elbow roughly into his assailant's stomach and scampering to the other side of the room. His father wheezed, trying to catch the breath his son had robbed of him.

"You're the trash." Roxas struggled to breathe. "Doing this to your son, your wife, for God's sake! You're one to talk about committing sins!"

A blow like lightning sent Roxas crashing to the floor. "Don't you dare use the Lord's name," the elder warned. "You've forsaken him forever, hell-bound fiend."

"You goddamn hypocritical zealot!" Roxas almost managed to stand before his father's fist came in contact with his stomach, sending him right back down again. "Who are you to judge?" He asked weakly. He never got an answer, only the usual flurry of fists bearing down on him and sending him into near unconsciousness_. It's always this way_, he thought to himself as he tried to remain quiet_. I'll never be able to fight this._

His father sent a kick to his gut, causing Roxas to cough violently and sprinkle bits of blood onto the carpeting. "I only wish I could do the same to your heathen _boy_friend." The man spat, leaving the boy on the ground to nurse his wounds as he retrieved a beer from the kitchen and sat in the armchair yet again, clicking the television on with the remote control near his hand.

Roxas laid there, crumpled on the ground, as he attempted to recover as quickly as possible. He knew the blood was trickling from his mouth onto Axel's hoodie, and he would definitely be questioned, yelled at, and fussed over in the morning, more than likely in that order. A fire began to burn deep within his gut. "How could you treat us this way? Your family?" He whispered venomously.

Ignoring his wounds, Roxas rose to his feet shakily. His father had turned on an old-time sitcom and was laughing loudly, all thoughts of his youngest son forgotten. The boy reached for the nearest item to hand, a baseball bat hanging on the wall from some important game that he really didn't care about; his father had bought it when he was in his better mind and still cared about his family. Cloud had still been at home. Roxas couldn't have been more than five years old.

Roxas clutched the item in his hands and drew it back, taking the only useful lesson his father had taught him at an early age and swung, hearing a loud crack as the sturdy wood made contact with the skull in its' path. The man crumpled to the ground wordlessly, no longer laughing obnoxiously at the twice-used jokes coming from the speakers. He held the symbol of his freedom limply in his hands, unable to grip it properly any longer.

"You're never going to treat anyone this way again." Roxas promised, using a dishtowel lying on the counter to clean the bat's handle and hanging the item back on the wall in its' place of honor. "If you do, I'll do it again and again until I make you stop."

No longer bothering to muffle his footsteps, he went to check on his mother. After determining that she was only on sleeping pills and nothing more serious, he said a silent prayer of thanks and left her a note explaining the situation.

_Mother, I'm sorry, but you know the situation. He's stealing my soul away, yours too. I had to._

_I'm still upstairs. I hope you understand._

He wearily stepped through the door to Axel's apartment upstairs, locking the dead bolt behind him and leaning against it to think for a minute. The man below him would never go to the police about a situation; there was too much to risk if they found out about his tendency to abuse his family. He stumbled toward the couch and finally reached the side table, grabbing his cell phone and texting Cloud to tell him of what had happened.

_Brother, he did it again. I stopped him this time, but I can't do it alone anymore. I need you to help. Please, Cloud, he's hurting mom too, don't ever let him do this again._

He turned the ringer to silent so he could sleep and trudged toward bed, barely managing to claw the hoodie and shoes from his body before collapsing in exactly the same spot as before he'd woken.

Axel wrapped the same exact arm around his body, mumbling incoherently as he drew Roxas closer. Roxas smiled sleepily and nestled his head against Axel's chest, thankful for the warmth of the other boy's body as he drifted off into a place where he didn't have to worry about defending his family from itself.

_This time I'm gonna make it end.

* * *

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**Go Roxy! The song's a bit more complicated this time...  
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**Reviews?**


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